The Niagara News is the community newspaper of Niagara College located in Welland and Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada. It is created and produced by the students of the Niagara College Journalism program.

Dogs of Therapy Tails bring joy to those they visit

By LAURA BARTONStaff Writer“Can I pet your dog?”It’s a question heard a lot by the owners of Therapy Tails dogs. Dogs and handlers go to the visitation locations clad in Therapy Tails green and ready for love, because the answer is, “Yes, you can.”These aren’t service dogs. They come specifically to soak up the attention of the humans around them. And that includes petting them.“We are a bunch of volunteers. We take our own personal dogs who are evaluated to be therapy dogs and we take them out to visits,” says Erin Champigny, one of the members of the board of directors, as she sits with her dog on the steps near the Niagara College cafeteria. It’s a regular sight every other Tuesday, and one many students look for throughout the year.Champigny is owner of Leonard, a pug who is extremely popular with students, which she attributes to the fact most people haven’t ever seen a pug in real life.“I love people’s reaction to Leonard.”He became a member of Therapy Tails on his second birthday. Champigny had seen the organization in action when she worked for the Boys and Girls Club, and she knew from that moment she wanted to be a part of it.During Leonard’s evaluation to become a therapy dog, she met Tina and Stewart Hill, who founded the organization in 2010. The grassroots charity started as Therapy Tails Niagara, but grew to Therapy Tails Ontario within a few months.Tina died earlier this year, but her legacy lives on.“Tina knew how to bring people out of their comfort zones,” says Amy Farnham, another board member.She describes how Tina encouraged her to become part of Therapy Tails with her pit bull, Molly. Tina wanted to go beyond the standards of what were in her days of working for St. John Ambulance and “broaden the horizons.”She wanted to show what all dogs are really like, and with Tina’s push, Farnham joined.“I was quite nervous to begin with. Certain visits I was worried about,” says Farnham, “but then once we started doing it, the great presence that [Molly] made herself … it was hard not to feel proud and to feel that we were doing good.”Residents at the Villa de Rose Retirement Residence on Hellems Avenue flocked to Molly during a Tuesday evening visit, wanting to pet her and give her as many treats as possible. Despite her breed, she’s breaking down the negative stereotypes and earning the trust and love of those around her.“Molly’s very gentle,” Farnham says, a sentiment, which is quickly echoed by one of the residents.Ann Venketeswaran, a retired registered nurse, was once afraid of Molly.“I shrunk back,” she describes her first meeting with the pit bull. “You know, I was nervous and apprehensive.”The stigma and bad reputation of the breed preceded Molly, but Venketeswaran eventually told herself, “You’ve got to lose that fear.”Now she’s a fan of Molly, who sat with her most of the visit in the common area of the residence. She even pseudo-adopted her as a “grandchild” and blew her goodnight kisses at the end of the hour-long stay.And she’s not the only one who is a fan.Sakina Lamka, a Police Foundations student at Niagara College, says her favourites are Molly and Leonard. She loves how Molly in particular will climb onto her lap to be petted.“Because of media and movies, to you pit bulls are the meanest dogs ever,” she says, but remarks how Farnham shows people that Molly isn’t aggressive at all.“With Therapy Tails, you find out that they’re not actually mean. They’re trained to be mean.”Lamka has a love for all the Therapy Tails dogs though as she says, “Well, I mean, who doesn’t like cuddling dogs?”These visits are particularly poignant for students who might be studying for exams or worrying about assignments. When they see the dogs, their faces light up and they’re quick to sit on the floor just to get a chance to have a moment with the furry friends.Venketeswaran says these visits are really important for herself and the other residents, too.“This helps reality,” she says, talking about how having the animal right beside them needing attention benefits them.Farnham says many of the residents don’t have a chance to see family and only see one another all day, so when some of the Therapy Tails team come in, it’s a huge change.She even recounts how a personal support worker at the residence will say she knows when the dogs have come to visit because everyone is “smiling and happy.”Therapy Tails isn’t only a great source of comfort and stress relief for people. Both Champigny and Farnham describe just how much their pooches have changed since joining.Molly was once a hyper dog according to Farnham, and she goes so far as to say she “screamed and cried” through her evaluation. But now, Molly knows when it’s time to work. Her ears even perk and she turns her head when Farnham mentions it.“People really enjoy her temperament. She’s very quiet, she’s very inviting.”For Champigny, she saw the abused, fear-driven dog rescued from a puppy mill transform into a whole new character.“Just to see how much he’s grown has got to be my favourite part,” she says with a smile. “He’s got such a personality now and I attribute all of that to Therapy Tails.”It would appear then that Therapy Tails is a win-win all around. Tina Hill’s organization has helped to reshape the way people feel about stigmatized dogs, has helped people find comfort, and has even helped the dogs themselves.And all of this one tail wag and slobbery dog smile visit at a time.

Silver Bells, the husky, wears Therapy Tails green, posing for the camera between being petted by students during a visit to Niagara College. PHOTO BY LAURA BARTON

Joanne Goulet and Amy Farnham visit Villa de Rose Retirement Residence with their therapy dogs Buddy and Molly to brighten the days of residents. PHOTO BY LAURA BARTON